Breaking down while hearing his own shocking words played back to him Tuesday night on Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes, embattled TV bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman opened up about the controversy surrounding the now-infamous taped phone call between Dog and his son, Tucker, in which the reality star drops the “n-word” in reference to Tucker’s girlfriend.

“It hurts worse to hear it over and over,” Dog said, referring to the racial slur he used. “And I am very sorry that I said that.” Yet the TV tough guy tried to offer an explanation, saying his diatribe was sparked by perceived threats the girlfriend was making toward his wife, Beth. Dog also insinuated that Tucker could have sold the tape (a tabloid paid a rumored $15,000 for it) for drug money.

In trying to rationalize his use of the hurtful language, Dog stated, “I used to say, ‘I’m black, too.’ My whole life I’ve been called a half-breed, a convict, king of the trailer trash, this and that. I take that and stand, so when I stood there and said, ‘I kind of know what you feel like, because I’ve been there, too,’ that I felt that I could embrace and like, as brothers or even as a black woman, say the word…. I now learned I’m not black at all, and I never did it out of hate.”

We can’t be sure, but it’s a pretty safe bet that not everyone will accept that explanation…